My Queens: Final Chapter
Summary: Bella takes a trip of a lifetime, but all is not as it seems.
Bella/Athenodora, Didyme, Sulpicia
In her eighty-seven years as a vampire, Bella had only ever wished for sleep a handful of times. The previous week had proved to be one of those times. The thing was, she was not bored out of her mind. No one she loved had shed their mortal coil, as Marcus liked to say. No, things were hectic to the point that she was desperate for a break. She was desperate for a moment of peace. Praying her mind would shut off for just a few hours. Preparing to meet the Romanians head-on was far more tasking than she ever expected, especially as she was running the show. She hated Aro with a passion. Had she known this was what she signed up for, she would have told him to go fuck himself.
Things had come to a head when she threatened to turn a guard into powder for referring to her as ma'am. Everyone knew it was a threat she could so easily carry out. After all, Aro's prized Sauter was currently a pile of dust in the throne room. The truth was, she hadn't meant to; her frustration had gotten the better of her, and before she knew it, her shield was wrapped around the grand piano, and it was dust. It was not the poor vampire's fault that Bella had simply reached the point of no more.
Her mates realizing she had reached her limit, told the kings to handle things while they took care of their mate. Took care they did. Bella lost three days, it was three glorious days of no one asking her questions. Three days of complete and utter silence, save for the sounds she made as her mates took complete control of her mind and body. Bella emerged from Athenodora's chambers, ready to tackle the world.
"We will be landing in Cluj Avram Iancu airport in an hour." Santigo informed them. Landing so close to the Romanians stronghold might not seem wise, but it was also the second busiest airport in Romania with a private terminal which made it ideal. How else did over one hundred vampires travel without drawing attention to themselves?
Every move from the plane landing to the run to the Hoia forest was planned down to the most minute detail. However, Bella did not have to hide or be careful about her presence in Romania; Vladimir and Stefan expected her. Bella had suspected the Romanians knew of her, hence why they had desperately approached Amun. Bella, it turned out, was right.
Forty-four years ago, Bella had come to the aid of a vampire in the Hulunbuir Grasslands in Mongolia. Inner Mongolia is a part of China and home to Li Wei's coven. The vampire in question was Arthur, a British-born aristocrat who was turned by Li Wei in 1840 during the Opium war. Arthur and his brother Alfred were twins turned at the same time by Li Wei. Arthur had been ambushed by a coven determined to wrest control of China from Li Wei. Between her and the twins, they had made short work of the vampires. Li Wei had been beyond grateful, and a friendship had been formed. Bella had also demonstrated her gifts when she had joined Li Wei in confronting the new coven.
The Romanians believed Bella was part of Li Wei's coven, having heard the story from a vampire who had been a part of the coven they defeated. The vampire was now a part of the Romanian coven. Stefan had then asked if the rumor was true that Amun had trained Bella. Arthur had told the truth and even gone as far as showing the Romanians video evidence of Bella's gift.
Alfred had seen everything Arthur saw and relayed the information to them. The twins' gifts were one of sender and receiver. Arthur sends everything he sees to Alfred telepathically, no matter the distance. A gift that made him a great spy, one without the need for any device but his eyes and ears. They were not going in blind, and that was an advantage that gave everyone a great deal of confidence. But it was confidence tinged with caution, and rightly so. The Romanians were a dangerous pair.
The run through the Hoia forest would be done in covens, except for the Volturi Chinese and Japanese, who were too large to run as a single coven. Bella had found great amusement in Aro's inability to say anything about the size of both the Chinese and Japanese covens. Led by Satoh, the Japanese equivalent of Smith. The ancient's history was about as mysterious as the man himself. Nothing was known about the man himself, even his name. No one was stupid enough to believe his name was Satoh and considering he changed his name more often than not.
Aro had simply stared at them when they each coven boarded the plane with twenty-five gifted vampires. "So, turns out we are not the second-largest coven in the world." Emmett quipped when the covens boarded, much to everyone's amusement. Well, maybe not Aro's.
"Darling." Athenodora's voice dragged Bella out of her head. She found the plane empty, except her coven.
"Right, we are here." She murmured.
Her hand held Bella back as she tried to stand. "If there was ever to show off, it's today."
"You could wrap your shield around that decrepit castle and crush the lot of them." Sulpicia piped up.
"Do you have somewhere else to be?" Didyme asked, clearly annoyed with Sulpicia's behavior.
Didyme was the quiet of the three, but in the weeks since news of the Romanians, she had become so redrawn, it pissed Bella off. It was no secret she had come within a hairsbreadth away from dying at the hands of Stefan. Didyme was the reason Bella had every intention of making the Romanians pay. Didyme will have her vengeance.
"Sorry, just aiming for some levity," Sulpicia mumbled sheepishly.
"Yeah, I could crush them, but according to Arthur, there are several vampires who do not want anything to do with Stefan and Vladimir's plans. Got to give them a chance at some semblance of a life.
They exited the plane to find the hangar empty. "I guess we should not keep everyone waiting." Within minutes, Bella was staring at a castle that looked the very definition of a nightmare. This was what you saw in your nightmares if a castle ever featured. "Yeah, I'm crushing that monstrosity when this is over." She muttered to herself.
"Do you think they will fight?" Emmett asked. It was evident it was what he hoped for.
"Let's be honest, even if they all chose to fight, it is not going to be much of a fight. The odds are in our favor, and we have experience on our side to boot. Above all else, with Bella here, their gifts are useless." Caius answered. Despite his words, he would love a fight. It has been too long.
"Then I think it should be a level playing field," Athenodora said to the surprise of no one.
"Excellent idea, dear sister," Caius said again, no surprises there.
For half an hour, they debated which vampire got to fight. Bella paid little attention to the squabbling. As long as Didyme got to rip Stefan's head off, she didn't care what the others did. She'd simply made sure they were protected. Against any gifts thrown their way.
"Arthur, anything else I need to know?" Bella asked. The vampire had left the Romanians' castle the day before but stayed closed just in case anything changed.
"Nothing has changed." Despite centuries with the Chinese coven, his English accent remained strong. Unlike Carlisle's, whose accent you only heard when his emotions were heightened, even then, you only heard it if you had an ear for such things.
"Okay, I believe it's time I introduced myself." She murmured. All conversation stopped as she made her way toward the castle. She chose to walk; it took her a few minutes, but a few needed minutes that allowed her to center herself. She cleared the forest and stared at the castle in its full horror. She could walk up to the old wooden doors and knock, but her mate did advise her to show off.
She was sure a large wrecking ball size of her shield would pulverize the old wooden door. Instead, she went considerably smaller. With a deep unneeded breath, she took a step back and launched the first ball. It came as no surprise when it went through the door. A face appeared in the hole she'd made. "Good evening." She greeted, holding back the laugh threatening to erupt at the look on the vampire's face. With an audience, she took a step back and launched another shield, making another hole, soon occupied by another face. She started throwing her shield, one after another, until there was nothing left of the door.
There was a fair bit of distance between her and the castle. She took her time floating towards the castle and the amazed faces of the vampires watching her approach. Stefan and Vladimir practically vibrated with excitement at her approach. Of course, they were expecting her, so right now, fear was not an emotion any of them felt. That would soon change.
The large compound was littered with vampires. Arthur was right, some of them would rather be anywhere else. They had just over fifty vampires, and many of them, if it came down to it, would not fight. The Romanians walked forward, smiling widely as she came to a stop just beyond the destroyed door. "Isabella, that is some display of your gift." Stefan greeted.
"Indeed, rather impressive," Vladimir added. "Who knew a shield could do so much?" He murmured under his breath.
"Thank you." She said with a smile, the one that sent a chill down everyone's spine. She was glad to see that despite thinking she was an ally, they still looked at her with some trepidation.
"Please, come inside. We will talk." Stefan managed after a beat.
"Yes, talk." Bella chuckled. "The only thing we have to talk about is your surrender." The noise behind her drew everyone's attention. She watched the Romanians as they watched a large number of vampires match toward them in no particular hurry. The look of complete and utter disbelief marred their faces, but she sensed fear. Fear they made a valiant effort to mask behind the betrayal they felt.
Bella put her hand up, and the approaching mass stopped. She turned her attention to the vampires in the compound. "I have no idea what these two sold you, but I can hazard a guess. Vampires are top of the food chain, yet the Volturi allow our food to rule the world. They allow it because they are weak, cowardly, and not fit for purpose. No, it's time vampires took their rightful place as rulers of this world. To do that, the Volturi and anyone that stands in our way must be annihilated." Bella looked around and chuckled at the stunned faces.
"Are they wrong?" A vampire whom Arthur had identified as the gift detector spoke up. It was evident to Bella he would rather die than surrender.
"Yes," Bella said simply. "Out there are over one hundred vampires, one hundred and twenty-eight to be precise. Among them are some of the most gifted vampires you would ever encounter. Vampires who would make the war with humans a walk in the park. Then add me to the equation, and what chance have the humans got if we decided it was time we ruled the world?" Bella asked, looking the vampire in the eyes. The vampire simply glared back, knowing Bella was right. "Why haven't we? Because we love the world as it is. I love the innovations humans continue to make. I look forward to seeing the future they hope to build. I live in hope that flying cars will truly become a thing, even though I know it is highly unlikely. They continue to build up, the skies are congested, yet they want to add flying cars to the equation. It's a terrible idea, but I still want to see it. Are you not looking forward to the day you hear on the news that a car veered of course, and plowed into the couple on the seventy-ninth floor while they cooked in the kitchen?"She chuckled, and surprisingly, a couple of vampires laughed with her. "I want to see just how much more innovative they can get. There was a time there was no solution to us sparkling in the sun. The spray we use now was invented by a human. Yes, it was invented for something different. It does not negate the fact that it has solved a problem for us too. If you want to live in this world as it is, feel free to join the vampires behind me." Bella offered.
"Move, and you die," Vladimir growled, even though his attention was on the vampires congregated halfway between the forest and the castle. "You would stand with them." He shouted at Amun. "You forget what they did to you. What they took from you. You will stand with the coven that stripped you of everything." By the time he was done, he was snarling. If he was waiting for a response from Amun, he would get none. Bella, though, happily answered for him.
"Amun might tolerate the humans, we all do in truth, but Amun also enjoys the luxuries the humans provide. We feed as we want, without having to rule. Just like me, he sees no reason why any of that has to change. You should have asked yourself before you embarked on this foolish endeavor if any vampire apart from you two and this deluded fool over here want to drastically change this world? The answer is no. We could have brought most of the vampire world with us, but there was no need for that. That should tell you just how foolish your ideas are."
Bella turned back to the vampires. "I am a shield; no one will lay a hand on you," Bella assured them. It came as no surprise when eighteen of the vampires in the Romanian's camp joined the Volturi and company. She chuckled when the very vampire they had seen as their weapon against Jane and Alec ran from them as though his ass was on fire. Amun would take great pleasure in training him.
The fool was indeed deluded, deluded enough to try and attack Bella. His roar and charge was promptly halted when he found himself in a shield floating. "There is always one," Bella murmured before crushing the fool into nothing. Stefan and Vladimir stared at the remains of the vampire who had been instrumental in forming their army.
"You can fight or surrender, but your very existence is at an end." She told the Romanians dispassionately. "The rest of you, is this the hill you want to die on?" Bella asked.
"Some of us aren't sheep; we can think for ourselves," Stefan growled. "You could be so powerful, yet you live under the thumb of that caricature." He added, his eyes firmly on Aro, who looked as though he was pouting at the insult. Bella couldn't help but think his pout only reiterated the insult.
"I do not live under anyone's thumb, least of all, Aro's. I have my own coven; I believe you have met my mates and heard of my children." Athenodora, Sulpicia, and the twins waved. Didyme just glared at the two. "The Volturi are family, so yes, I do owe them a certain loyalty. Except, my being here as got nothing to do with them. No, I have always wanted to present Stefan as a gift to my mate and watch as she ripped you apart. Who knew you'd be stupid enough to give me a chance." The words had barely left her mouth when she felt her shield almost withdraw. Whatever the gift, it did not affect her, but she felt her shield waiver. She stared at the vampire in question, who glared back despite the failure of his gift. "Someone is in a hurry to die." She quipped, raising her hand.
Of course, her mates were among those fighting; the twins had no interest in fighting. Emmett was bouncing on the spot, eager to get started. She rolled her eyes at the sight of Jasper and Caius without their shirts. Garrett, Kate, Felix, Santiago, Demetri, and some from the Chinese and Japanese made up the numbers. "She turned back and stared at the vampires standing with the Romanians. "Are you truly going to die for a cause that is not yours?" She asked, hoping to change their minds.
"We know the meaning of loyalty." One vampire sneered. These vampires were some of the first turned by the Romanians. They knew nothing but what Stefan and Vladimir had drummed into their heads. There was no changing their minds, and with a sigh, she took to the skies as the twenty-one fighting charged forward.
The punch Athenodora threw as she got to the first vampire took her head clean off. Bella knew with her mental shield the Romanian's gifts were rendered useless. Except for the vampire with a power that nearly had her shield redrawing. He stood back directly in front of Stefan and Vladimir, making sure no one got close, and no one could and live. The fight as expected was one-sided. Without their gifts, the vampires found their fighting skills wholly lacking in the face of her friends and family, who had centuries of training under their belt.
It came as no surprise when the fighting ended in no time at all. Bella had her shield over everyone as the vampire in question continuously threw his arms out, hitting her shield.
"What do we do about him?" Caius asked, shirt still off.
"Will you put a shirt on." Bella groaned.
"What? Questioning your choice of mates." He quipped. Bella rolled her eyes in response.
"Can we get back to the matter at hand," Didyme grumbled.
"Bells, can't you just throw a shield over him and crush him," Emmett asked as though the thought hadn't occurred to her.
"Nope, whatever energy he's throwing out rips the shield apart before it can fully form around him." She answered.
"It is that powerful," Amun said in awe.
"Yeah, it's what it must feel like getting punched by a vampire." She mumbled.
"Wait! Is that what it's felt like this entire time." Jane asked, concerned.
"No, it was when he first hit me. My shield nearly snapped back until I quickly reenforced it." Bella answered, pulling Jane closer to her side. "Honestly, I'm fine. If anything, I've learned my shield is stronger than I thought possible." She added.
"What do you mean?" Carlisle asked.
"Well, imagine my shield as a finely woven cloth. Usually, I have it quite loose because it makes it easier to manipulate. Depending on the force it encounters, it tightens the weave. I thought I had as tight as I could until this guy. I have quadrupled the strenght of the weave. If that makes sense." Bella glared at the vampire in question.
"Your shield strengthens to counteract the force it encounters. That means there is no telling just how strong it can get." Amun looked thoughtful.
"Don't get any ideas," Bella warned. "You have another shield to train."
"Okay, we can't get close, but why are the Romanians still here. I would have hightailed out of here the minute it became clear we were losing were I in their shoes." Emmett murmured.
"Oh, I have them in a shield. I can't get a shield around him, but those two, it's just another day." Bella laughed.
"Really, Isabella," Didyme growled, or at least attempted to, but her smile was just too big.
"You know, it's a real shame we can't exhaust ourselves because I would love to watch this idiot do just that," Bella said with a sigh as she sauntered over to the vampire, whose entire focus shifted to Bella. The more Bella stood grinning, the more the vampire looked irritated. "You do realize I already have them in my shield or have you not noticed they are still standing behind you." Bella had said that as a joke, but it seemed the vampire indeed had not realized the Romanians were still behind him. The vampire dropped his hands and whirled around. "I was sorely tempted to wait and see just how long you would stand here poking at my shield, but my mates are in a hurry to go home" With that said, Stefan and Vladimir started floating toward the rest. The two vampires in question started frantically punching Bella's shield in an attempt to get free. It was a pathetic sight when Vladimir stomped the shield, hoping to create an opening he could fall through.
"You will not get away with this. It does not matter how long it takes; I will avenge them." The vampire snarled, venom dripping from his mouth like a wild beast.
"Again, you really should pay attention to your surroundings." Bella stepped back just as the top of the castle crumbled. While the vampire had been distracted, she had encased the entire castle in her shield.
The snarling vampire now looked panicked. "No." He pleaded as he looked around widely at the crumbling castle.
"I gave you more than one chance. I told you if you chose to fight, it would only end in your death. I guess I should have added we have a vampire who can see the future." Bella heard Alice's hello, and the Romanians' audible shock. "You made your choice. Above all else, I do believe you when you say you will come after us. I don't want to have to look over my shoulder or worry about my family any more than I already do." Bella turned her back on the boy and the crumbling castle.
"You had no choice, Bells," Emmett said somberly.
"Oh, I know, but it still pisses me off that so many had to die needlessly." She groused her attention on the two that started it all. She removed the shield around them, leaving them at the mercy of over one hundred vampires. "Can we…" That was all she managed before Didyme gripped the back of Stefan's neck. The vampire dropped to his knee. Vladimir's attempt to come to his aid ended abruptly when he bounced off Bella's shield.
"You will suffer for this." He bellowed.
"How are you going to do that when you are dead?" Bella taunted as they watched Didyme slowly pull Stefan's head off. Despite being stuck inside Bella's shield, Vladimir continued to issue threats. The second Stefan's head was off, Bella crushed the shield around Vladimir without preamble. One second he was shouting another threat. Next, he was no more. Didyme gleefully tossed Stefan's head into the fire.
"Now, can we get out of this creepy ass forest?" Rosalie asked impatiently.
"Damn, this feels like sand," Emmett mumbled as the crushed stones of the castle ran through his fingers. In amongst it all, a very gifted vampire was just as crushed.
Bella would admit she paid very little attention to much of anything while they flew to Romania. She did, though pay attention to her mates, and Didyme's mood had shifted the most on the flight back. Not only was she back to her usual self, but she also seemed so much more enthused about everything. Right now, though, Bella was hoping that enthusiasm would be directed at somebody else's belt buckle.
"Didi, honey, this is not the time or the place for you to show your appreciation. Your smile is enough." Bella pleaded although it fell on deaf ears. Athenodora and Sulpicia looked thoroughly elated at Bella's predicament.
"But I want to; you have no idea what you've done for me." No, Bella suspected she didn't. Those two took something from her mate, and she'd finally got it back. Whatever else Bella had to say died in her throat when a finger brushed over her clit.
"Fuck." She groaned, gripping the seat handle. Well, there wasn't much of a handle left.
It was a damn good thing Bella had already thanked the vampires who aided in the defeat of the Romanians. Didyme dragged her off the second they landed in Florence, Athenodora, and Sulpicia following.
Bella made it back to the castle a week or so later. They encountered Aro first; Bella suspected he was on the lookout for them. "So this is what you missed. Matthias went Amun." Aro was clearly not happy about that. "We got two. Sophie can detect weakness in others when it comes to fighting." Bella knew Caius would be eager to train her. So no surprises there, her ending up with the Volturi. "The other is Cameron, Heidi's mate."
"Oh, how wonderful." Didyme cheered.
Aro finally seemed to pay attention to his sister. "You are well." Those words said so much without saying it.
"More than words could convey," Didyme replied, hugging her brother.
"I should have let you kill those two the first time you asked," Aro murmured Bella's way. Bella had been desperate to end the Romanians decades ago when she first learned about Stefan almost killing her mate. Aro had refused. A treaty with the Romanians meant he could not allow it, at least until they broke it.
Didyme stared at her mate in shock. "Isabella." The barely whispered, choked version of her name left Didyme's lips. No more than that was needed to show her gratitude.
"Now, what do you want to do with the Cullen boy. Well, I guess it's Masen now, as he's no longer a Cullen." Aro murmured.
"We will deal with him in a day or two," Athenodora said flippantly, but they knew it was far from how she felt.
"Are you returning to London after this?" Aro asked.
"Yes, Jane will pout until the world ends if we do not," Bella muttered as they headed down the corridor to the queens' wing of the castle.
The pathetic sight of Edward Masen did not soften the hearts of the three queens. No, if anything, they were encouraged to heap more misery on him. "You do not need much of a brain to know the Romanians lost and are no more." Sulpicia quipped. The further slumping of his shoulders made it evident that he had held out hope the Romanians would win. The shield dropped, and the three entered his cell.
"I do not need Alice's gift to know that even without the Cullen's, you will do just fine," Athenodora whispered. "You have an advantage of knowing so much without lifting a finger due to that gift of yours. We cannot just let you walk out of here after what you intended for us." She added.
Before Edward could wonder what her words meant, he was blind. Athenodora, with venom on her fingers, scratched his eyes. If there was one thing a vampire never healed from, it was a wound inflicted with another vampire's venom.
"I can't see. What have you done, you fucking bitch. I will kill you for this." He bellowed and surprisingly threw a swing, missing by a country mile. His momentum carried him forward until he slammed into the door. "You took my eyes." He cried.
"It's the least you deserve." Didyme snarled. "You claim to love Bella, and yet everything you have done has only made her unhappy. The fact that you do not realize that and still believe you were wronged shows just how much of a selfish pig you truly are. Everything you have done has not been about making Bella happy; it's all about you and what you want. If you learned nothing at all from this, just know that if we die, so does Bella. Why kill you when any plans you make to kill us will only result in you losing the one thing you want." Didyme finished.
"I don't care anymore. I will kill you all, Bella be…" He lost his tongue.
"Good luck with that." Sulpicia laughed as they left him on the cell floor, moaning.
Bella had every intention of going back to teaching. She hadn't meant to wait two centuries before she did after her last teaching stint. Except, that was precisely how long it took her to get back to it. However, she opted for higher education in the same college she went to this time.
Dartmouth was familiar in some aspects and entirely new in some. Some of the old buildings had stood the test of time, others not so much. The tech-laden college reminded her of every single one of Jane's apartments. This time, to make sure she lived with a little less artificial intelligence attempting to run her life. She had bought her own apartment in the same building as Jane's. One aspect of tech Bella would not complain about was the self-driving cars. She enjoyed simply getting in the back of a car and ending up at her destination without lifting a finger.
She was taking one last look through her teaching plan, not that she needed to when the students started coming in. Her head shot up when a familiar scent hit her nose. "You have got to kidding me." She growled as Jane and Alec strolled into her lecture hall as though they owned the place.
"What the fuck are you two doing in my class?" How had she not known they had applied for college, gotten accepted, and in her class.
"We want to master our Mandarin," Alec muttered sweetly.
"Really, Li Wei offered to teach you, so take a trip to Inner Mongolia for a few months and study there. After all, she taught me the language. I will come and visit at the weekends, or you can come and visit. Case solved. Now, out." Bella turned back to the class to find the room focused on them.
"That is too much. This is easier." Jane argued. Bella lifted an eyebrow in response. Thanks to Rosalie and Santiago, flying was as easy as flying through space at wap speed. In fact, they'd called their engine WAP. It was clearly a joke that went over so many heads. In the last decade, every airline in the world used their technology. "We earned the right to be in this class fair and square," Jane added.
"You know what… knock yourselves out," Bella said, giving up.
"My name is Dr. Isabella Swan, and I will be your lecturer for the next year and the three after that if you decide to take this class as a major. I do not take electives after the first year; keep that in mind." She stared at the twins and sighed. "Full disclosure, those two are mine." She had heard the whispers of their similarity, mainly their unearthly beauty. Most people in the class got over their beauty and otherness quickly and focused. Some though seemed to be still focused on her in particular. She was sorely tempted to call them out but thought better of it.
She had expected her mates to also turn up throughout her lesson, but they hadn't, thankfully.
Of course, just when she had given up on them, they showed up, all eyes on them. it was rather comical to see so many people slam into things and other people while the three sauntered towards her. "You know, I'm going to focus on the positive," Bella muttered.
"Which is?" Athenodora asked.
"You three not taking my class as well." She glared at the twins, who clearly did not give two shits.
"Oh, they tried. I stopped them." Didyme responded.
"Didi, you truly are a balm to my sanity," Bella said, kissing her softly. "You know what, you are my favorite by a longshot," Bella added.
"After two centuries, she finally admits what we all knew already," Sulpicia said with a shake of her head.
"Oh, I love you all equally; I just like Didi more." She clarified, not that she needed to.
"We love you too." The three said together. Bella smiled as they piled into the SUV.
"Home," Jane mumbled, and the car started. She was truly grateful vampires did not need sleep on days like this. She did not want her day to end.
North Shore, Illinois, was a young town even by American standards. The small town of Winnetka mainly was known as one of the most affluent places in the nation. In that small town was a house no one occupied as far as the locals were concerned. The outside was well cared for. Clarence Sotomayer, the owner of Sotomayer and Family Landscaping Company, was the chief caretaker of the exterior of the old house. In the fifty years, he had been working there, he had never once entered the home. He was paid monthly for his services, and never once had a payment been missed or even late.
There was nothing unusual about that until he told you that his father, grandfather, and great grandfather had the same responsibility. The house stood out for its style, a style long abandoned. It had no skylights and not a single glass wall insight. Building materials that were no longer in use, and windows so small, Clarence felt claustrophobic just thinking about it. Clarence was well aware that it was a typical building style some four hundred plus years ago. That was how old this house was. Generations of his family were paid to keep it clean, even though it had never had an occupant as far as anyone knew. The owner clearly knew enough of the city's requirements when it came to unoccupied buildings to do enough to keep the local authorities from asking any questions. Of course, the local kids swore the house was haunted, which Clarence would admit, he sometimes thought so too. He could somedays swear there was someone in the house, but he kept that to himself.
Then one afternoon, Clarence's grandson Peter, came running into his workshop claiming the house was on fire. Of course, by the time Clarence got there, the fire had been put out. He quickly sent an email to the company that paid him to inform them of the fire. The fire meant for the first time that anyone could remember, the door to the house was open.
History, that was the one word that came to mind when you entered the home. The walls were lined with books covered in dust. The only place Clarence had seen an actual physical book was the Museum and a few libraries. Books you were not allowed to touch even in the library, and yet this house was jam-packed with them. "Damn good thing the fire drones got to the fire before it spread. I can't begin to imagine how much all these books are worth." The inspector mumbled.
"Yeah, me neither," Clarence said absentmindedly.
"The only place I have seen any of the things in this house is at the history museum. This house is history in itself." The inspector added. Clarence nodded, having thought the same thing.
Despite the message to the company, they heard nothing for two and a half months. "Yet, I get paid on the first of every month," Clarence argued when his brother, Theo, said no one was coming to claim the contents of the house.
"It could easily be an automatic payment system that just kept paying long after the owner was dead because they still have money in the account." It was not a far-fetched theory; it was how the system worked until someone put a stop to it.
"Still…" Clarence started.
"No one will notice a few books gone, and those record things. There are literally thousands in the house." Theo argued.
"We aren't thieves, Theo." Clarence retorted.
"This could get us the new A.I system and maybe even an upgrade on the robots. Think how much work we could take on?" Clarence ignored his brother and went back to his reading.
A knock on the door had them both jumping. "Fuck." Clarence groaned as he shuffled to the door. The man at the door was one he had never met. The man was a good-looking fucker. "Yes?"
"Hello, you sent me the email about my house." Clarence turned to look at his brother, whose jaw was on the floor.
"Yes, I did, but that was weeks ago." He mumbled.
"Unfortunately, I was in the middle of some important work and didn't get your message until last month. I just came to tell you that we will be clearing out the house and selling the land. We will also be canceling the contract for your services. Thank you and your family for everything." With a nod, he turned to leave.
"Erm… can I ask? How come…" He wasn't sure what he was asking.
"It was a stipulation made by an ancestor hundreds of years ago, the fire rendered it moot, and we can now be rid of it. It was also why it took so long for us to do anything about your message. Lawyers." Clarence watched the man get his car before shutting the front door.
"Don't want to hear it," Theo grumbled.
"Weren't planning on saying anything," Clarence said with a laugh.
A couple of weeks later, Clarence Sotomayer received a large package. Fifty books, a thank you for years of hard work. Theo collapsed when he saw the content. Clarence was grateful he was sat down when he opened the package, or else he'd be on the floor with his brother.
He would never know that the house belonged to one Edward Masen, who had lived there for over three hundred years. It had taken that long to finally build enough courage to end his miserable existence.
Had Carlisle Cullen not shown up, Theo would have eventually robbed the house. In amongst the things he would take was a diary and video evidence proving the existence of vampires. It was this that Alice Cullen saw that prompted the visit.
Clarence stared at the books then broke out in hysterical laughter. He could do so much more than just getting the robots upgraded, he could now buy new ones entirely.
"We are good," Alice said when her eyes cleared.